Superhuman feats
Athletes completing feats which seem superhuman in order to raise awareness or funds for good causes is something that garners media attention, as it should.
These people challenge themselves to find their limits and overcome them, and while doing so they further aim to help others.
Malta has seen many examples of such feats over the years. Swimmer Neil Agius had become the second person in recorded history to swim between Sicily and Malta, and he did so to raise awareness about sea pollution. He is now going for a world-first record attempt in the longest non-stop, unassisted, current neutral, open water sea swim ever undertaken.
Albert Gambina and Dorian Vassallo had kayaked around Sicily and back to Malta to raise funds for Inspire. More recently, athlete Steve Sammut Nurminen will once again attempt running 365km across the island of Sicily, with the aim of donating 2,000 meals to Soup Kitchen OFM Valletta. Claudio Camilleri and Daniel Abela have teamed up to run a mind-numbing 500 laps around the Marsa track to fund inbuilt therapeutic services for children under the care of Fondazzjoni Sebħ. Another type of feat that comes to mind is when Mark Galea Pace, together with seven Nepalese sherpas, went to Mount Evarest to clean up the trekking route to the base camp.
There are of course others who have made such feats in order to raise funds for good causes, or to raise awareness about certain issues.
Some don’t manage to complete their challenges, either due to bad weather interfering, or physical exhaustion. But that doesn’t matter as their aims were admirable, and their efforts are appreciated. They should all be praised.
The sheer amount of training that these people must go through in preparation for their challenges is difficult to imagine. And here, by training, we do not only mean physical.
One can imagine that it takes a great deal of mental preparation to get into the mindset needed to take on such challenges. Claudio Camilleri said, of his upcoming run : “On the one hand, I’m enthusiastic to start, spurred on by the support from family, friends and all the work done to raise awareness and funds for the cause … On the other, I feel anxious and worry things will go wrong. Part of the mental work is focusing to convert these doubts into a positive drive. It’s so easy to spiral down with thoughts of ‘what the hell am I doing here’. When that happens, what I must keep at the forefront, is the value that each and every contribution will change lives.”
There are others who undertake athletic feats to raise funds for charity, such as running a marathon to raise money for a good cause, or organising hikes with such an aim for instance. Some conduct other forms of activity. For example, when it comes to environmental awareness, clean-up groups in Malta make great efforts to clean up areas. These are examples of ways in which most of us could help contribute towards doing good.
When Neil Agius had completed his Swim around Sicily and came back to Malta, he had words of encouragement for others who want to challenge themselves. His message is that anyone can do anything they want. Even if it is not this extreme, the smallest things count too, he said.